The invention relates to a conveyor belt formed from individual chain links which are arranged with their longitudinal extension in the longitudinal direction of the belt to form members parallel to and at a distance from one another, the chain links of adjacent members being inserted partially into one another and being hinged to one another by means of bars inserted through the aligned orifices.
Such conveyor belts are used, for example, for transporting annealing through a furnace. Conveyor belts consisting of wire mesh are used for relatively lightweight materials. The conveyor belts used for heavier material are those, the members of which consist of wire coiled alternately to the right and left, forming an oval orifice cross-section, or of conventional oval chain links, and successive members are inserted partially into one another by means of the convolutions and are hinged to one another by means of a bar inserted through the aligned orifices (German Journal "dhf" 9/76, pages 59-62, 65). The disadvantage of these known conveyor belts is that they move with difficulty as a result of the friction against one another and because of distortion resulting from the effects of heat.
The object on which the invention is based is to provide conveyor belts which can be produced cheaply and can support heavier loads and which still move easily even under the effects of heat.